Talk to Strangers
by queen-of-convenience
Summary: When Fiona had convinced Michael to finally go out for lunch with her, a phone call changes the usual Fiona and makes Michael far too interested.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Burn Notice nor Michael Westen or Fiona Glenanne or Sam Axe. They belong to USA channel and Matt Nix. The purpose of this is just some fun.

_Regular people don't really listen to other people when they're talking. Truth is, most of the time they just wait until their turn to speak. When you're a spy, though, you're used to get someone to talk until you get all the info you need. Sometimes this "someone" needs just a drink, other times some torture and spanking, but some people you just can't crack_.

Fiona was, as always, already sitting on the kitchen table by the time Michael got back from his morning jog. Also not surprising, she was eating of of his strawberry yogurts. That was okay, Michael was used to that, they shared a relationship a few years back, some yogurts now seemed like perfectly acceptable. Or it was when he found out it was the last of his yogurts.

- "Five yogurts, Fi..."

- "I was hungry, Michael."

- "I'm sure you were", he said after a pause for a deep breath, "now I am hungry and there's no yogurt left on the freezer."

- "That's a good opportunity for us to go out for lunch", she replied while she got off the table. "Come on, Michael, I know you want your job back, but you also need to eat and since I'm here I thought..."

- "You thought you could eat all my yogurts and take me to lunch."

- "Exactly, so why don't we...". She wasn't able to keep up with the sentence. Her cellphone was ringing. It was odd cause Michael was standing right in front of her and he's usually the one calling. He had never seen her answering a call near him. And he was pretty sure it wasn't Sam. It was too early for Sam to be up on a Sunday.

She carefully took it from her purse and gave it a stare Michael had never seen it before. She whitered a little bit, which was weird to see for she was always with that Miami resident tan.

- "I've got to... take this... outside, just a second, Michael".

- "Fiona, who..."

- "Just a second, I will be right back."

He didn't know any of her friends. He didn't know any of her acquaintances. Some of them, okay. Seymour and that guy Campbell. If he had to bet, he'd bet on Campbell, against his will. Surely he wasn't jealous. Was he?  
But it happened as she had told him. She came back just a few minutes after she left. Already on her natural tan. He didn't ask her about her phone call, not with his lips anyway. She glanced at him and faked her best smile.

- "So, what do you tell me? Lunch? Is that okay?"

- "Sure thing, Fi. So..."

- "So what?"

- "Fi..."

- "Yes, Michael?!"

- "You can do better than this."

She threw her cell phone with anger inside her purse.

- "Are you coming or not?"

- "No, I'm not. I wouldn't ask, Fi, but you look worried. And when you're worried, that probably means danger. Did you forget what happened the last time you had that look?"

- "I hitted your face, by any chance?"

- "Well, there was some punching, it just wasn't you who was punching me."

- "Sounds good enough."

That was followed by an awkward silence. They stared at each other for a minute but it surely felt like a whole hour.

- "Are you coming?"

- "No, I'm not going right now."

- "To hell, then".

Oh, Michael would go alright.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

_When you're manhunting someone, you've got do it in a way the person you're hunting won't find out. If you're tailing this person with a car, it's always good to have a number of cars than just one. One car makes you obvious, predictable. Two cars are better cause you can look more natural, but it's still risky. Three cars would be the ideal situation. But when you're following a trained former IRA member, she'll notice you, no matter what._

The chase ended not very far away from Carlito's. Obviously Fiona had other plans than to go where she always does, but you can't blame her for leading Michael to the "lunch" she wanted to have with him. She got off her car, went towards the table and waited. He'd show up. Sam wouldn't, but Michael didn't know that.

- "It's always a pleasure to know I can still fool you, Michael. Makes me remember the good old days."

- "When being with you was potentially fatal. I don't think we can call that 'old days', Fi."

- "Oh, someone's in a bad mood today. What happened? Did you run out of yogurts?"

- "Sarcasm fits you, Fi. Where's Sam? Cause you know he was after you too."

- "He has some explaining to do to Ms Reynolds. She might wonder why her car's missing a rearview mirror and why is there a bullet shaped hole on the car hood."

- "You're always making his life easier."

- "What do you want me to do? There were two suspicious men following my car. You're lucky it wasn't your car."

Then a very young waiter came and placed two drinks on the table - the usual ones - near Michael and Fiona. Oddly enough, Michael hadn't seen Fiona asking for them.

- "So I guess we're having lunch, after all", Fiona said.

- "No, we're not. Who were calling you, Fiona?"

- "May I inquire why such curiosity over a private phonecall?"

- "Cause you love to tell me who's been calling you, especially if it's a man."

- "Perhaps I don't want you to ruin this relationship. Have you ever thought about that?"

Michael was a little bit livid. Of course he had not thought about it. He secretly didn't want her to have a relationship with any man because he wanted him to be the "man" of her life. Not the he'd admit that anytime soon, but...

- "It isn't about relationships, Fiona. You were white as a corpse and you don't get to be white in Miami", he said and then changed the tone of his voice. "Fi, if you're in some kind of trouble, I'm here, I mean, we are here to help you, you know."

As surprised as she was to hear that, Fiona wasn't planning on giving in that easily. No. There should be a struggle in order for Michael to know what was going on.

- "Then I guess we're having lunch after all. Aren't we, Michael?"

_There are times when the best strategy is to give up. There's no use having a great plan on mind if you're being choked by quicksand. Stop moving, surrender and you might live to aply your great plan. It doesn't make you feel in control of the situation, but it's better than having no control at all._

- "Yes, we're having lunch, Fiona."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

- "For someone's been working with me for quite a long time now, Michael, you're constantly underestimating my abilities", Fiona said while throwing a little black object back at Michael. "A modified cellphone underneath my car's seat is not exactly the best hidden object you've ever built".

- "If you talked to me about what's happening, Fi, I'd stop bothering you with things I wanted you to find", Michael answered.

- "Well, then..."

[...]

_When you're a covert operative, you learn to do your job and go back to HQ. There's no time to waste, so you learn to compartmentalize your feelings. If you finished a mission, it's done. If you finished a mission with someone else disturbing your job or threating your life, it is done, no matter what. You have no time to feel anger or to plan a personal vendetta. It makes you effective, but it's not that easy to get over if that someone messed with your mind._

- "FIONA!", Michael replied in anger after Fiona's full explanation on the calls, "I don't have to tell you how stupid it is for you to go after that killer, Natalie or whatever her name is, and also how idiot it is of you to rely on people you don't even trust!"

- "Oh, that's so sweet of you, Michael!". They were both on Michael's warehouse. Fiona kept a nervous pace while Michael were standing still. "A trust speech from a man who worked for Strickler! You should talk about relying on strangers, you mastered that. Do I have to remind you what happened? He decided to kill me, Michael, for the safety of your job! And I remember I kept warning about him, and what did you do? Kept going! Why should I bother listening to you if you don't do the same thing?"

- "Because I was not planning on killing anyone for my job, that's why."

- "He was. He was willing to take your arms trafficker ex-girlfriend from the scene just for the sake of your dream, 'superstar'!", she said, mocking Strickler's tone of voice.

- "Fiona!", he repeated. "Listen to me, Fiona, you can't do this. It's insane, even for you. Let's... think of something together. You, me and Sam."

- "This is not your fight, Michael. And it's not Sam's either. And I surely didn't ask for your help. I just told you because I need you out of my way! She started it with me, I'm gonna finish it. She fooled me, she made me trust her because I was too touched by her lies."

- "Now you're the one willing to kill for a stupid reason, because she fooled you! No wonder you were IRA."

- "Go to hell, Michael Westen!", she said while walking to the door. Michael went right after and held her by her arm. They both stared each other for a couple of seconds.

- "Fi, that's not what I meant."

- "No, no. It's exactly what you meant."

- "No, it isn't. I'm sorry, Fi. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret later. We can put her in jail, Fi, we've done that a hundred times."

- It's not your fight, Michael", she repeated calmly. "I'm not your client. You don't have to do anything because of me for I can take care of myself."

He smiled at her, letting her arm go. She didn't walk out of the house.

- "I'm sure you can, but your fights have been my fights for a long time, Fi. Come on. Let me help you."

Fiona simply shook her head. It was time to go upstairs and think of something.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

- "If you're gonna keep complaining about my attitude, Michael, you can leave me here, I didn't ask for your help.

- "No, Fi. I'm not going anywhere. I'm afraid of what might happen here. I've got to protect you from yourself."

- "Oh, that's sweet..."

- "So, here's where your so-called _contact_ told you Natalie was. Not exactly the inconspicuous place for hidding here in Miami."

_When you are an operative, you get used to working on places where all the variables are against you. You need to deal with them, predict your opponents movements so you can use your surroundings in your favor and eventually you need to plan an exit, just in case. But sometimes the environment only leads you into a well planned trap._

They were parked near Townhouse Hotel, this major hotel down on Miami Beach street. It was crowded, filled with potential hostages, the perfect situation for some bad guy to get away, considering Michael's and Fiona's inability to do any harm to those who don't deserve it. Michael was hoping that the "revenge driven Fiona" would keep it that way. He had that dread feeling that something might happen to her. And he was there to make sure Fiona'd get her revenge without any bloodshed.

- "Fi...?"

- "Yes, Michael?"

- "Remember what you told me when I first went to work with Strickler? About feeling _wrong_?"

- "Yes, you didn't listen to me, I remember that. Your ego was blocking your ears."

- "I know, it's sort of a sore subject to you...", Fiona stared at him. "...but anyway, that's not my point. My point is: this feels wrong in every way, Fi. Don't you rather go back and..."

- "I've got a better idea!", she said, faking the happiness on her voice. "Why don't you go home and eat a whole bunch of yogurts while I go canvas the area, yes?"

Michael couldn't say much, because Fiona was already a few feets from the car with her .9mm hidden under her loose shirt. He laid his head on the wheel, preparing the mental speech he'd need in order to get her out of that situation. He wouldn't be able to do so, though.

Fiona was already a few meters from the car and, consequently, from Michael, when she heard a loud sound. It was a car, no doubt about it. It was a hummer, actually. A black hummer. No doubt about the ticket it'd get for driving over the speed limit. She turned to take a look at it exactly when the hummer hitted Fiona's car on the back, causing it to move and hit another car in front of it. The airbag worked and Michael was trapped inside the car. Car alarms were on, people started to gather near Fiona's car. The black hummer, on the other hand, was working. The front of it was a mess, but it was working.

- "MICHAEL!", Fiona yelled while she ran towards the car.

Soon enough the hummer's door was open and there she was. Natalie. She looked flawless, although she had just crashed her car. She went out of the car and stood there, leaning on it. She watched Fiona with a big smile on her face.

- "Oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry for _bumping_ into you... I mean, bumping into your boyfriend. Michael, isn't i? You know, Miami's traffic can be tough."

- "YOU!", Fiona screamed, without leaving her car's door (which wasn't opening up). "If anything happen to Michael, I swear I'm gonna hunt you down..."

- "I know, I know. You're gonna come after me and have my head on a silver plate, yada yada... But you know, Fiona. Here I am. I've got no guns on me and you've got yourself one, I'm pretty sure". Far away, police sirens were getting closer and closer. "And you can make your choice. You can either kill me here, right now, like I know you're willing to do or you can go and save your white knight's life. But hurry up, you've only got a few seconds."

Fiona had one of her hands on the car's door and another one right near her gun, which was still under her shirt. There were too many people there and there was Michael's life at stake. Natalie opened the hummer's door once again and shoor her head.

- "Fiona, we both know what's your decision. Which is a shame, I'd love to see you trying to kill me. And just so you know, my target was you, but hitting him was a far better idea. This is just a demonstration of what I can do you keep on chasing me, sweetie". Natalie got on the partially destroyed hummer and started driving away from the 'crime scene'.

Fiona took her gun and crashed the window's glass with it. Then she took one of her lock-picking tools and punched the airbag. Michael's face was covered in blood, but he was alive. His breathing was weak, but he was alive and that was all Fiona cared about. She laid his head back on the car seat and opened the door from the inside. Then, she took him out of the car and laid him on the floor, using her thigh as a support to his head.

- "Don't do this to me, Michael. Don't you die on me, please", she said as she tried to check his vital signals. She had tears on her eyes and a mixture of anger and panic on her head. "Please, wake up. SAY SOMETHING, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"

- "Fi..."

She stared at him, placing her hands on his cheeks. Those tears were streaming down her face by then.

- "Yes, Michael?!"

- "I..."

- "Yes?"

- "I was right."

- "Oh, shut up! I'm so glad you're alive."

- "It's good to be alive."

- "Just be quiet, I'm gonna get Sam to pick us".


End file.
